KYIV/WASHINGTON (Reuters)

Russia pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones, killing at least 12 people, in the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year and drawing a rare rebuke from US President Donald Trump on Thursday (April 24), who told Vladimir Putin: “Vladimir, STOP!”

Trump told reporters at the White House that his administration was applying “a lot of pressure” on Russia and reiterated his displeasure with the attack.

But he said significant progress had been made in peace negotiations and the Kremlin had made a “pretty big concession” by being open to “stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country,” referring to Ukraine.

“This next few days is going to be very important. Meetings are taking place right now,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to make a deal … I think we’re getting very close.”

Speaking to CBS News‘ ‘Face the Nation‘ programme on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the effort was “moving in the right direction” but “some specific points … need to be fine-tuned,” according to a transcript. He did not provide details.

The US president said Washington was also pressuring Kyiv.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also at the White House, said further discussions were planned for the weekend, and the US wants to see both Ukraine and Russia step up to finalise a deal.

After talks with Trump in Washington, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday that Kyiv was working hard for a deal. “There is something on the table now I think, where Ukrainians are really playing ball, and I think the ball is clearly in the Russian court now,” he told reporters.

The Kyiv attack, which the US president said was “not necessary” and “very bad timing” as he pushes for peace, also wounded 90 people, smashed buildings and set off fires, Ukrainian officials said. Rescuers were still recovering bodies from the rubble more than 12 hours later.

Asked if he had a deadline for the two sides, Trump said: “I have my own deadline, and we want it to be fast.”

The latest attack came at a critical moment in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Both Kyiv and Moscow are trying to show Trump they are making progress towards his goal of a rapid peace deal.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” Trump said on Truth Social, addressing the Russian president.

Asked by a reporter if he thought Putin would listen to his appeal to stop missile strikes, Trump said “I do.”

The White House has threatened to abandon its efforts if no progress is made soon. Trump upbraided Zelenskiy on Wednesday when the Ukrainian leader repeated that Kyiv would not recognise Russia’s occupation of Crimea.

Trump said on Thursday that it would be very difficult for Ukraine to regain Crimea.

Trump has used a markedly more gentle tone in his statements about Putin than with Zelenskiy, whom he at one point referred to as a “dictator”. Trump’s special envoy is expected to meet Putin on Friday for more talks, a US official has said.

MOBILE PHONES RING BENEATH RUBBLE

Rescue teams who could hear mobile phones ringing under the rubble worked at 13 sites in Kyiv with climbing specialists and sniffer dogs, the emergency services said. Forty fires broke out. Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the Kyiv city military administration, said there were 12 dead.

“There was the air raid siren, we did not even have time to dress to go out of the apartment. One blast came after the other, all windows were blown out, doors, walls, my husband and son were thrown to the other side,” Kyiv resident Viktoria Bakal said.

The Russian Defence Ministry said it carried out a massive overnight strike against Ukraine’s military-industrial complex using air, land and sea-based long-range high-precision weapons and drones. Lavrov reiterated Russia’s position that it does not target civilians.

Zelenskiy said on X that Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in the attack, citing preliminary information. A Ukrainian military source earlier told Reuters that a residential building west of Kyiv’s centre was hit by a North Korean KN-23 (KN-23A) ballistic missile.

The Ukrainian leader said on Telegram early on Friday that Russian forces sought to use the mass air strikes as cover for intensified land-based attacks, especially in the Pokrovsk sector of the eastern front, but these were repelled.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that apart from the Kyiv area, seven other regions came under “mass” attack. Damage was reported in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest, in the Zhytomyr region west of Kyiv and in the industrial city of Pavlohrad, which lies in the central Dnipropetrovsk region.